GOLDEN, Colo., May 7, 2014 – Colorado School of Mines Chemistry and Geochemistry Assistant Professor Jenifer Braley is among 35 scientists from across the nation to receive significant funding for research as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program.
Under the program, Braley will receive $150,000 per year for five years to cover summer salary and expenses related to her research. Awardees include 18 researchers from U.S. universities and 17 from DOE laboratories.
Her project, “Actinide N‐Donor Thermodynamics: Expanding the f‐Element Covalency Dialogue,” was selected for funding by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences. The research aims to improve management of used nuclear fuel.
“As nuclear power becomes increasingly attractive to mitigate concerns relevant to global climate change, understanding the chemistry of the actinide elements, especially the heavier actinides, becomes increasingly important to improve peaceful nuclear fuel recycling technologies, select appropriate used nuclear fuel geological disposal sites and further develop our nation’s nuclear forensics capabilities,” Braley said. “The unique research and educational access Mines has to the USGS nuclear research reactor in the Denver Federal Center catalyzed the development of this exciting project that examines the extreme edge of the periodic table.”
To be eligible for the award, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant or associate professor at a U.S. academic institution or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory, who received a PhD within the past 10 years. Awardees were selected by outside scientific experts.
For more information on the award and the full list of awardees, see the DOE website.
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